Area Farm & Ag Headlines

In a press release on Friday, January 18th, the IRS announce it will issue guidance to provide relief from the estimated tax penalty for farmers unable to file and pay their 2012 taxes by the March 1 deadline due to the delayed start for filing tax returns.

The delay stems from this month’s enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA). The ATRA affected several tax forms that are often filed by farmers and fishermen, including the Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization (Including Information on Listed Property). These forms will require extensive programming and testing...

The drought of 2012 has affected not only grain farmers, but also livestock producers and companies. On Thursday, January 17th, Cargill announced that it will idle its Plainview, Texas, beef processing facility effective at the close of business, Friday, Feb.1, 2013, resulting primarily from the tight cattle supply brought about by years of drought in Texas and Southern Plains states.

In a press release, Cargill revealed that approximately 2,000 people work at the Plainview facility, and that they will receive company support. Federal, state, county and city government...

WichitKan. – For eight years running, readers of No‐Till Farmer magazine have voted AGROTAIN®nitrogen stabilizer by Koch Agronomic Services the top product in the fertility/soil amendmentscategory. Allen Sutton, who was on the product development team for AGROTAIN® stabilizer, acceptedthe award on behalf of Koch at the National No‐Tillage Conference in Indianapolis on Friday, Jan. 11.

“Farmers who implement conservation tillage are some of the most knowledge‐seeking, discerningfarmers in the industry, so Koch should be proud that its product has been recognized for its...

Producers will have no problem finding the more than 150 new products and technologies that exhibitors plan to display at the upcoming AG CONNECT Expo & Summit 2013, thanks to pre-show and at-show efforts to help attendees locate new products on the show floor.

As part of AG CONNECT’s New Products & Technologies Program, attendees may preview new products online and create a personal show planner to keep track of exhibitors they want to visit.

At the show, the printed show directory will provide attendees with the complete list of New Products & Technologies...

Working into the wee hours of the new year, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a fiscal cliff bill that will extend farm policy through September. With this extension, legislation has essentially kicked the farm bill can down the road in an attempt to avoid the so-called Milk or "dairy" cliff.

The giant New Year’s tax package rushed through Congress Tuesday includes a nine-month farm bill extension that forestalls any immediate spike in milk prices but also represents a bitter blow for farmers who had hoped for long-sought changes in the dairy support program.

The University of MN Field Crop Trials Bulletin is now available in print and electronic forms. The new publication, dated January 2013, provides results from U of MN trials conducted in 2012 across the state. The varieties tested are from both public and private breeding programs and include U of MN developed forage, grain, and oilseed crop varieties.

Plant varieties tested include alfalfa, barley, birdsfoot trefoil, canola, corn for grain, corn for silage, oat, soybeans, spring wheat, and winter wheat. Trials were conducted across the state at Research and Outreach Centers...

The big news for markets today circulates around the USDA December report that came out at 7:30 a.m. this morning.

For U.S. Carryover Numbers:• Corn: Unchanged, sitting at 647 million bu (Nov projection at 647 million)• Beans: 130 million bu, down from Nov projection of 140 million• Wheat: 745 million bu, up from Nov projection of 704 million bu• Cotton: 5.4 million bales, down from Nov projection of 5.8 million

You may remember the Peterson Brothers (Greg, 21; Nathan, 18; and Kendall, 15 from Saline County, Kan.) when they became a viral hit with their version of "I'm Sexy and I Know It" revised to "I'm Farming and I Grow It" back in July 2012.

In a press release on November 28th, Novozymes, the world leader in bioinnovation, revealed it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Natural Industries Inc. based in Houston, USA. Natural Industries Inc. is a bioagricultural player with annual revenues of $5 million.

This acquisition expands Novozymes’ position in key high-value markets for sustainable bioagriculture solutions.

“I am excited to have the people and technologies of Natural Industries Inc. join our growing BioAg business. Natural Industries Inc. expands Novozymes’ position in the important biocontrol...